Fairy Lights
by aswanandapirate
Summary: Emma is stuck in Neverland with Hook and she'll do anything to get back to Henry, even if it means jumping off a cliff.


**A/N: This is a fic for Brittany's birthday. I poured my heart into it so hopefully you all like it. :)**

It had been six months. Six months since they were sucked through the portal. Six months since she had seen her son. Six months spent in this beautiful cage. That's what Neverland was. A cage. Emma saw the beautiful mountains all around her tinged with purple flowers and wild greenery, smelled the salty sea air, and felt the smooth grass tickling her toes almost daily, but she didn't care. Nothing in this place mattered if she couldn't share it with her son. Her family.

Emma had spent the last six months traipsing around the forests of Neverland with Hook and looking for magic beans to take them back to Storybrooke, but they had nothing to show for it. They were stuck. _She_ was stuck and she had no hope. And with Hook of all people. Emma had to admit he had been more bearable than usual, but his constant presence was just a consolation prize in the fucked up mess that her life had become. She had had it up to here with him. While Emma had been obsessing over how to get back home, Hook had been reminiscing from his days as a Lost Boy.

She was afraid to admit that the look that came to his face when he spoke of old adventures reminded her of the man she met in Fairytale Land. The man she climbed a beanstalk and defeated a giant with. The man who told her she would make a great pirate. The man she reluctantly fell in love with months ago. Emma had to remind herself daily that he wasn't that man anymore. He hadn't been the same since he killed Belle. It was an accident. Hook had been cleaning out Emma's gun for her after losing a bet, and it accidentally fired just as Belle was walking into the station to report a stolen book. She was dead in seconds. Emma had found Killian on the floor weeping over Belle's body, whispering "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry" over and over. He had a deadened look in his eyes after her death. Killing someone so innocent, even accidentally, had triggered memories in him from his days as Captain Hook and he couldn't deal with them. He spiraled into a depression and his demeanor had only changed when they fell through the portal to Neverland.

The man she fell in love was back. He smiled and laughed and teased and flirted like his old self. Ironic, wasn't it? The place slowly sucking her sanity away was the same place that was restoring his. She _had_ to get out of here, but at the same time she wanted to stay a little bit longer for Killian's sake. Emma was stuck in a constant state of unrest, desperately searching for a way home and completely unsure of what to do if she found one.

That is, until two days ago. Emma had heard a rumor from some of the natives that there was a sea witch living right off the island who could help her. The natives spoke of her with fear and reverence, but Emma wasn't afraid. Fear had been replaced with desperation weeks ago. She was to go to the sea witch for help if she wanted to find the magic beans. According to the natives, there was no other way. So she went.

She packed up her stuff the night before and left when it was still dark the next morning. The stars were still out when she left, and Emma couldn't help noticing the second star to the right Hook had pointed out to her their first day in Neverland. It was a painful reminder of the man she had just left alone sleeping in a hollow tree. He was better off without her, to be honest. All she did was cry and talk about Henry these days, and she couldn't imagine listening to that had been very fun. This way, Killian could go find his old buddies the Lost Boys or go looking for Tinkerbell and he would be fine without her.

After a few hours of walking, Emma finally found the spot. A path led up to a cliff edge overlooking a rocky cove with a swirling whirlpool in the center. The natives had informed her that, in order to get to the sea witch, she had to jump straight off the cliff and into the whirlpool in the center. The witch's lair was at the base and magic would protect her once she was underwater. Emma had nothing to lose, so she kicked off her boots and removed her jacket, then approached the cliff's edge.

She stared into the whirlpool, mesmerized at how similar it looked to the portal her and Mary Margaret had gone through at Lake Nostos. It was beautiful just like the rest of this infernal place. Better to just jump and get it over with. The drop looked to be about forty feet, but she could manage. If this sea witch had a way for Emma to get back to Henry, all of this would be worth it. She steadied herself and bent her knees, steadying herself for the inevitable moment when she would jump.

"Emma!" She heard a familiar voice yelling behind her as she braced her body for the impact and prepared to jump. "Emma, stop! What are you doing?" The voice became more panicked. She closed her eyes and put one foot over the edge, fully prepared to take the leap.

Just as Emma was about to go completely over the edge, her arm was grabbed from behind she felt a person pulling her away from the swirling whirlpool she was standing over.

"Let-" Emma struggled to free herself from the grip of a very familiar pirate. "go of me!"

Emma seethed. This was her only chance to find the sea witch, and Hook was ruining it with his idiocy. "Why did you follow me here? I don't need your help!" She glared up at him and set her jaw. This was not the time to be playing games.

"What the hell are you doing, woman? Are you trying to off yourself?" Hook screamed at her. "I understand that you're unhappy here and you want to get out, but this is no way to do it. Death is not the answer, believe me." Killian was breathing hard and he had the look of a man possessed. He stopped to catch his breath, then whispered brokenly, "I know that better than most."

"I'm not trying to _off myself_, Killian." She rolled her eyes and continued to try to wrestle her wrist from his iron grip. "The natives told me the sea witch could help me find the magic beans, and I was just going to see her. She can help me get back to Henry." She swallowed the lump that had started to form in her throat then snatched her hand away from Killian's. "I can't just ignore that. _I have to get back to him._"

"They were feeding you lies, Emma. There's no sea witch in these parts. The only one I've ever heard of lives in Fairytale Land off the coast of Siren Island." Killian reached for her as she started back towards the cliff edge.

"I'm sorry, Killian, but I have to try." Emma fidgeted with the edge of her shirt and refused to meet his eyes, afraid of what she would see there. "I'd rather die trying than give up and never get back to my son."

Tears started to well up in his eyes. "Please Emma, don't do this."

She felt a hand latch on to hers and pull her away from the cliff again. This was never going to get done with Killian in her way. "Why do you care, Hook? I thought you were done with me." Emma's voice shook with an emotion she was too afraid to reveal.

"I can't lose you now. You're the only thing I have left in this fucked up life and I can't...I won't let the woman I love slip away from me again. " Killian pulled Emma to him and wrapped his good hand around her waist. Their eyes locked and the look he gave her then was so intense it set her insides on fire. "Emma, I'm not done with you. I will never be done with you."

Emma felt dizzy. _Did he just tell me he loves me? _She stared at him open mouthed for a few seconds. "You love me?"

"Yes, Emma. I love you." He ran his tongue over his lower lip and started to lean towards her.

His nervous tick threw her off for a second, but she squared her jaw and continued. "That doesn't change the fact tha-" Emma's dismissal was cut short by the feeling of two lips crashing down on hers.

She responded immediately, apparently so enthusiastically that she startled Killian. He backed off for a second and chuckled against her lips before kissing her again. This time his kiss was more desperate. It seemed as if Killian was trying to prove to himself, by kissing her, that she was real and nothing was going to keep them apart.

Emma wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss, then proceeded to moan when Killian slowly pulled away, dragging her lower lip with him in the process. He trailed kisses from the corner of her mouth to her jawline and up towards the shell of her ear. _"Emma."_

As Killian continued to plant feather light kisses across her face and neck, Emma couldn't help but catch a whiff of his scent. He smelled like rum and sea salt and _man_. Emma wasn't ashamed to admit to herself that she had actually dreamt about his divine scent before. She exhaled shakily at the thought of smelling that scent on herself later, then moaned again when Killian sucked on a particularly sensitive spot on her neck.

"Please Emma." he muttered between kisses. "Don't do this." Killian had moved back up to her lips now. "Don't leave me." He was so close his eyelashes were tickling her cheek and Emma's dizziness returned. "Not again."

"But how will we get back?" she whispered in his ear before trailing her lips down his jaw and kissing his cheek. She hid a small smile. This was their first real kiss. The first time didn't count because the Hook she thought was kissing her was actually Cora in disguise trying to mess with her mind. _That_ was not a moment she wanted to remember, but this was. Killian somehow had the ability to make her forget how unhappy she was in Neverland and how desperate she was to find her son. Looking into Killian's eyes and seeing the love there gave Emma hope. He was the sole flame of hope lighting the darkness that shrouded her soul.

"We'll find another way, love." Killian smiled and gave her a final peck. "Now come on. I've got to show you something."

Emma took his hand in hers. "Alright. I trust you." She smiled brilliantly up at him and licked her lips. "Lead the way, Captain."

A couple hours later, Emma found herself in a rowboat with Killian in the middle of a lagoon off the main Neverland coast. She wasn't sure what they were doing here at dusk, but Emma trusted that Killian knew what he was doing. He had spent three hundred years here after all.

"Now Emma, I want you to be ready for what's about to happen." Killian ran his good hand through the water lapping at the side of the boat. "It will be a little overwhelming at first, but I promise you're going to love it."

"What's going to happen?" She gestured towards the scenery around them and gave him a questioning look. "I don't understand. Why are we out here?"

"Just wait, love. It's starting." He pointed behind her then grabbed her shoulders and turned Emma around, setting her between his legs so she could lay back on his chest and watch whatever was going to happen.

Emma looked up and noticed thousands of small balls of light approaching the lagoon. They were flying and it looked almost as if they had...wings? The balls of light were all different colors but they were all approaching the same place, flying from all different directions and pulsing with life. She looked on with awe as the winged creatures engulfed the entire lagoon, surrounding her and Killian and the boat. Their reflections on the lake made it look like an infinite amount of the creatures existed, and the effect was overwhelming.

"These are fairies, Emma." He let one land on his arm and pointed out the wings to Emma. "They come here every night in the summer to dance and mate and meddle in each others' business. Fairies are some of the most caring creatures in the realm. I was friends with one of them...once." Killian's eyes were far away for a moment, most likely remembering something from his past. "I brought you here because I want you to see how wonderful Neverland can be. I want you to see what I see."

The light surrounded the both of them and Emma decided that here, in this cocoon of light, it was time for a confession. "Killian..." He looked down at her and gave her his full attention. "Thank you so much for bringing me here. You saved me. I didn't realize it at the time, but I could have died jumping off of that cliff this morning." Emma let out a shaky breath and continued. "I've been alone for so long and when Henry found me, I thought, 'This is it! _This is my love story._' Being reunited with my son has been the best thing that has ever happened to me, so you can understand why losing him again has been terrifying." She tried to put the picture of a world without Henry out of her mind. "I've spent the last six months obsessing over how to get back to him, how to get away from here, and terrified that I would never find him again. I've been out of my mind with fear from the moment we were sucked through the portal." Emma gulped and brought her hand up to Killian's face, trying to convey to him what was going through her head.

"I was just scared. The thing is, I'm not scared anymore. I know we can find a way home soon. Together." Her eyes followed the cluster of fairies directly over her head. They were spinning in the air and doing their own midair waltz. "It's clear to me now where I'm meant to be." She craned her neck up and planted a kiss on his jaw. "I'm meant to be with you, Killian."

Killian audibly gasped and tightened his arms around the woman looking up at him. "What are you saying, Emma?" he answered, his breath starting to quicken.

"Everything is different now. I see you." Emma kissed him again and moved to whisper in his ear. _"I love you."_

It was like a fog had been lifted in Killian's mind and all he could see was Emma. She was strong and beautiful and full of light and _she loved him_. Tears started to well in his eyes at the thought. This felt like one of the fairytales his mother used to read to him as a boy. "I love you too, Emma." Killian brushed the tears from his eyes and ran his hands through Emma's golden hair, loving the idea that he was free to play with her hair whenever he wanted. "I love you so much. Everything is going to be alright."

On that fateful night in the lagoon, it became clear to Killian and Emma that they belonged together. They could face whatever obstacles were thrown their way and they could definitely find a way home. The two would eventually escape Neverland together and return to Henry, but for now Killian and Emma decided to enjoy the moment. This moment-this night-was theirs. In the light of the fairies surrounding the lagoon that night, they found their happy ending.


End file.
